President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has emphasised that government and private sector can establish food banks and initiate food recovery programmes to have a social impact in terms of reducing hunger and providing social benefits. He also demanded proper storage and food waste management system in the country.
A good portion of food is wasted in all the countries of the world including Pakistan which if saved through intervention can eradicate hunger from all the countries, he said. According to estimate by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) food grown over 1.4 billion hectares of agricultural land is wasted annually. This is an area larger than China.
Mian Zahid Hussain said while wasting 250 cubic kilometres of water which is equivalent to 100 million swimming pools which is shocking when presented in the context of global food insecurity and hunger. While 800 million people in the world go hungry every day, nearly 100 million tonnes of Europe's food is wasted each year that is no longer bearable. He said that these statistics highlighted the need to address the problem while food services industry should be pushed to more competitive food services industry. Management and logistics systems for food and food waste should be improved in cities which are centres of consumption that are also expanding with an alarming pace.